This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Proposals for green jobs strategy
15/06/2004
Scotland's business community will get the chance to shape the country's first ever Green Jobs Strategy.
The Executive issued a discussion paper today seeking business views, with the aim to realise opportunities for Scotland in renewable energy, recycling and waste management, and resource efficiency.
Enterprise Minister Jim Wallace said there was significant potential beyond these well known sectors - in the development of cleaner technologies, and in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, construction and forestry.
The Minister said:
"Economic growth and job creation can and should go hand in hand with promoting Scotland's natural environment and, through exports, sustaining good environmental practice overseas. A Green Jobs Strategy will focus our efforts on delivering sustainable growth, which will generate employment while improving our environment and raising living standards across the country.
"We have already made significant commitments, including generating 40 per cent of Scotland's electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and transforming our recycling record by taking it up to 55 per cent of domestic waste. In the renewables sector in particular, Scotland really does have the potential to lead from the front.
"As well as creating new business opportunities, better waste management and more efficient use of resources benefits the bottom line - raising productivity and making a big contribution to environmental targets."
Mr Wallace continued:
"I am also keen that we look beyond the 'obvious' sectors when discussing green jobs. For example, a successful Green Tourism Business Scheme is already in place and is growing, we want to increase the amount of organic produce that can be sourced in Scotland and there are real opportunities in developing ecologically sound building design.
"I firmly believe that the creation of a Green Jobs Strategy will show how, by adopting an ambitious, long-term view, we can help make Scotland the green enterprise capital of Europe.
"We have already had some discussions with business organisations and others, and I look forward to continuing this dialogue over the summer."
Ian Russell, Chief Executive of ScottishPower, said:
"Sustainable energy is vital to our future. As the UK's leading developer of wind power, ScottishPower has already created a large number of jobs in the development and operation of renewable energy.
"However, this is only the beginning. With Government and industry working together we can harness Scotland's enormous wind, wave and tidal resources, providing tens of thousands of jobs across Scotland."
Charlie Morrison, Vice-President of Service Delivery Operations, IBM Greenock, said:
"As an ever increasing number of modern and forward thinking economies in the 21st century focus on crucial environmental issues - witnessed for example by the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive - the various 'greenbased' industries will expand, stimulating new growth and expansion potential for businesses in Scotland.
"Opportunities will present themselves in, for example, the early development of World Class Technologies and also the provision of excellent process infrastructure, both of which could be exported and adopted around the world."
Mr Wallace was launching the discussion paper Towards a Green Jobs Strategy today. It sets out the opportunities for Scotland to be a world leader in the environmental sectors; asks where there is most scope for developing green jobs across the economy; how awareness can be raised in the business community; how businesses can be supported in accessing these opportunities and what barriers exist; and whether government can act more effectively in stimulating demand.
The paper will be sent to a wide range of interested organisations, businesses and individuals drawn from across the public and private sectors, and the NGO and academic communities. The paper is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/environment/tgjsc.pdf
The consultation period will run until September 30 2004.
The commitment to develop a Green Jobs Strategy was made in A Partnership for a Better Scotland (2003), which states that:
"Growing the economy is our top priority. We will make this growth sustainable, in particular taking advantage of Scotland's resources to grow our renewable energy industries. We will work with business to develop and implement a green jobs strategy."